They had sent you to look for Jabber. As usual, he had let himself get carried away by the mission, and, as usual, he had ended up poisoning himself with his own concoction. And, as usual, it was up to you to go and pick him up. You hated him.

You hated him: his exuberance, his masochistic streak, his reckless, chaotic energy! You always had to clean up the mess he left behind, and it was exhausting.

“Come on! Get up!”.

you almost screamed when you finally found him, sprawled out in the middle of a barren wasteland just beyond the safe zone. The air was dry and heavy with the smell of rust and dust. Fragments of metal and discarded machinery poked out from the cracked ground like bones. The horizon stretched endlessly, tinted orange by the fading light.

He lay beside a shallow puddle, murky and still, reflecting the faint sky above; his reflection warped by ripples of dirt. His clothes were torn, his face streaked with grime, but he still wore that same infuriating, stupid smile.

“Oh… angel, did you come to save me?”

He laughed, that raucous, carefree laugh you hated so much. And yet… somehow, it always made your chest tighten a little. Because despite everything, he was still your teammate.

You knelt down, grabbing him by the arm, trying to lift him. He was filthy, the smell of metal and poison clinging to him, but he didn’t seem to care.

“My angel came to save me!!”

He repeated, giggling in that maddening way. You rolled your eyes but couldn’t help the small smirk tugging at your lips. Wrapping your arm around his waist, you helped him to his feet. He wobbled slightly, still partially under the poison’s effect, his usual bravado not quite enough to steady him.

You sighed, already preparing yourself for the long walk back through the empty land, the wind kicking up dust around your boots. Jabber’s antics were exhausting, infuriating… and somehow, impossibly, you wouldn’t have it any other way.

Because despite everything, he had always had your back. You were teammates, and no matter how unhinged or unpredictable he was, he had never let anything happen to you. You protected each other in your own strange way; and just as he would never get tired of keeping you safe, no matter how much you complained… you would never get tired of saving him.